What a Hong Kong student spends in a week

I am a full-time undergrad interning at a fintech startup. It’s the Oscars week! Although I’m a movie lover, I still need to control my spending. Luckily I have Neat to help me keep track of everything.

Monday

8:00am – Typical Monday blues uh… Got up unwillingly as I have a midterm at 9:30am. Better to grab breakfast to get some energy before the test.

8:15am – Got my breakfast from McDonald’s. A good choice when you’re still young and care less about being healthy. HK$33

12:30pm – Felt deprived of energy after the midterm. Time to get more food to power myself through the most boring course I have ever had in university later that day. Had beef curry with rice at the college canteen. Not the best meal, but it’s really good value for money. HK$30

7:00pm – Having dinner at home is the best – balanced and tasty meal that doesn’t cost me anything. (Considering I live with my parents and don’t share a bank account…)

Tuesday

9:00am – Woke up late and rushed to uni. Didn’t have time for a good, old, classic McDonald’s breakfast. Grabbed some bread at Yamazaki Baking at the MTR station. HK$9.5

12:30pm – Had the same beef curry with rice at the college canteen. I’ll never get bored with these meals. HK$30

7:00pm – Felt like I gotta have more dinners at home now I haven’t graduated and started working yet. Had some quality time with family.

Travel Expense: HK$9.6
Total: HK$49.1

Wednesday

8:00am – Day off at school but I need to work part-time every Wednesday and Friday. Luckily the company bought me shuttle bus tickets, so a 1-hour ride to Cyberport became 30-minutes and free.

9:15am – Not much breakfast option at Cyberport, so I resort to McDonald’s again. Where else can you get the yummy Sausage McMuffin and quality coffee? HK$19.5

1:00pm – The team usually has lunch at 1:00pm. Food can be quite pricey at Cyberport. Fortunately the company agreed to cover my lunch expense. Got myself a bowl of pho at a Vietnamese restaurant.

7:00pm – Met up with my girlfriend after work. After 15 minutes of struggling with where to eat, we went to a famous Chiu Chow restaurant at Sheung Wan. Oyster omelette is a must eat in Hong Kong in case you haven’t tried it yet. HK$167.5

Travel expense: $5.9Total: $192.9

Thursday

10:30am – OK this is my real day off, with no school or work. Got to sleep in and refresh myself halfway through the week. Grabbed classic HK breakfast (Fried eggs and macaroni soup with ham) at Maxim Hong Kong Day. HK$34

1:30pm – Even though it is my day off, there’s still a lot of assignments and work to do. Grabbed a quick lunch at Tai Hing with mom. It’s finally time to buy her a lunch with my ‘hard-earned’ money from internship. HK$123

7:00pm – After a few hours of productive work, I definitely need to reward myself with the brand new Oscar’s Best Picture. Had Yunnan Mixian for the dinner. HK$46 for dinner & *$70* for movie

10:00pm – Moonlight was beautifully done, with extraordinary performances and a creative way to take on a difficult subject matter. It’s not the crowd-pleasing type of movie, but still a great and powerful one. Was starving after the movie and had some tofu stuffed with fish paste to fill my tummy. Eat big or die small, right? HK$24

Travel Expense: $11.8Total: $308.8

Friday

8:00am – Fully refreshed after a day off, and got up early for work. Went to reward myself with some hotcakes at McDonald’s. HK$29

1:00pm – Time for team lunch. We all bought our own meal and sat outside to enjoy the rare blue sky in Hong Kong. There are not a lot of options around Cyberport so I got pineapple fried rice from the same Vietnamese restaurant.

7:00pm – Went home for dinner. It’s always great to eat at home and be fully relaxed.

Travel Expense: $0Total: $29

Saturday

10:00am – It’s finally weekend! Had a nice long sleep and needed some energy before attempting to catch up on my reading. Still a long way from my New Year resolution’s 50 books target. Had noodles with pork and egg at Toast Box. HK$39

1:00pm – Needed a lunch break before I continued reading a great book on Chinese History. Had grilled lemongrass pork with rice at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant. HK$89

4:00pm – Bought a book, The Myth of the Rational Voter, from Book Depository. Luckily I had my Neat card around to do the online shopping. HK$202.8

6:00pm – Made some good reading progress and completed another assignment due next week. Time to meet up with my girlfriend. She wanted to eat Japanese food, so we went to Big Bang Dong. People were all hyped up for this restaurant on Instagram. The food was okay and would be better if the queue was not 45 minutes long (Can you believe it?) HK$229

8:00pm – We went to watch Logan afterwards. Of course we would need to buy popcorn for this superhero action thriller. Props to Hugh Jackman for being our Wolverine for 17 years! HK$117

Travel Expense: $0Total: $676.8

Sunday

10:00am – It was a huge day for any sports fan! UNC vs Duke, then followed up by UFC 209. Tar Heels of course won, like we all expected. Just like what Michael Jordan said, the ceiling is the roof, right? (Google that if you missed it) UFC 209 was a bit underwhelming though.

1:00pm – Watched sports all morning and forgot to get breakfast. Had dim sum with my family for lunch at my favourite Chiu Chow restaurant in Central. Their goose wing and feet marinated with soy sauce never fail to satisfy me! As it was a family lunch, I did not pay.

8:00pm – Finished my Business Law assignment after several hours of procrastination. Had dinner at my club house with my family, and then call it a day.

Travel Expense: $11.8Total: $11.8

Honestly, I would not know how to keep track of my spending without Neat. It’s always great to be informed and not overspend. And it also supports online shopping, with one of the best exchange rates in town. What more can you ask for?

A mobile current account set up in 10 minutes that helps you stay on top of your budget. Want it?